Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Are you going to Warped 2011? If so, share with your fellow concert-goers which venue you'll be attending. The venue dates and places have been released and are now currently available on the Warped Tour website. With that, let me know the bands that you're hoping to see out on the tour this summer! Also, if your searching for the perfect musical Christmas gift for someone, check out the Warped Tour Holiday Gift Package. To find out more information about Warped Tour, check out my recent post.

Watching this video makes me super stoked for Warped Tour this summer! This is Anti-Flag in Cleveland, Ohio at Warped Tour 2009, shot by me. Enjoy!

What is the absolute best concert you have ever been to? If there was more than one that you attended and loved, feel free to share them all. Who did you see, where did you see them, and what year was it?

Mine? Blink-182 at the Post Gazette in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on their summer tour August 2009. I also enjoyed seeing Alkaline Trio at the House of Blues in Cleveland, Ohio on a tour in May 2009.

Just to keep in the Warped Tour spirit like recent posts, here are a couple photos I took of The Briggs at Warped Tour 2008 in Cleveland, Ohio. Remember, bands will be announced in December, which starts tomorrow!

The Briggs are a punk band from Los Angeles, California currently holding a label with Side One Dummy Records. This is yet another band that knows how to keep punk alive with a fast sound and raw vocals. Their most recent album dropped in 2008 which was titled, "Come All You Mad Men." I saw them for the first time in 2008 at the Agora in Cleveland, Ohio with Anti-Flag, Street Dogs, and Fake Problems, and ever since then they have been one of my favorite punk bands. Take a look at this video and let me know what you think! Song to listen to: "Back To Higher Ground."

Friday, November 26, 2010

Share your votes for the ten best punk albums! If you listen to other genres of rock music, be creative, list those instead. Directions: List the album name, band, and year it was released. P.S. Hope everyone reading had a happy Thanksgiving!

A few of my favorite albums, taken by me.

"Blink-182" (self titled) by Blink-182, 2003

"Maybe I'll Catch Fire" by Alkaline Trio, 2000

"Take Off Your Pants And Jacket" by Blink-182, 2001

"I-Empire" by Angels And Airwaves, 2007

"Box Car Racer" (self titled) by Box Car Racer, 2002

"Dookie" by Green Day, 1994

"Dude Ranch" by Blink-182, 1997

"Die For The Government" by Anti-Flag, 1993

"For Blood And Empire" by Anti-Flag, 2006

"Anthem" by Less Than Jake, 2003

That was difficult! There are so many more albums that I love, but these are some of my favorites.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

For anyone who enjoys live shows, or is a frequent concert goer, you might want to check out Vans Warped Tour, if you have not already. Warped Tour is a huge music festival that tours all over the United States, along with a few dates in Canada, all throughout the summer months. Warped Tour performers consist of many different genres of punk, alternative, ska, screamo, etc., bands that may play the whole tour, or at least a few dates. You can watch numerous bands in just one day because part of the setup includes several different stages; each band is scheduled to play on a certain stage at a certain time. Some bands that played last summer, 2010, at Warped Tour, were Alkaline Trio, The Casualties, Anti-Flag, Four Year Strong, and The All-American Rejects. Along with the music, many tents are set up at Warped Tour for different organizations such as Music Saves Lives, Keep A Breast Foundation, and Peta2.

Warped Tour is a chance to hear great music and see bands perform live, participate in organizations that help changes lives, attend signings and maybe even meet bands, and to have fun in an environment of music, punk, and skate.

According to Warped Tour's website, under the bands tab, they will begin announcing some of the bands that will be performing this summer at Warped Tour 2011. I added a slide show to this post of previous Warped Tour photos from the tour in 2006 all the way to last summer's tour, 2010, giving you at look at the fun before the show if you're attending...or a look at what you'll be missing if you don't! All photos were taken by me.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Here are some more photos of the Gallows performance (see previous post), at Warped Tour 2009 in Cleveland, Ohio. Take a look at how Frank Carter engages the crowd, and makes the show about the fans! Oh and, by the way, I added a Gallows RSS feed.

For those that don't know of them, Gallows are a punk rock band from Watford, Hertfordshire, according to their Facebook, located in the United Kingdom. Gallows sing and play nothing but punk, with angry lyrics and deep sounds. They do more than keep punk alive, they represent it. Check out their music video to "Abandon Ship," from their album "Orchestra Of Wolves," released in the United States in 2007. To read the lyrics to "Abandon Ship," and other Gallows songs as well, go to the media tab on their website.

Gallows consists of five members: Frank Carter on lead vocals, Laurent Barnard on guitars/keys/vocals, Steph Carter on guitars/vocals, Stu Gili-Ross on bass, and Lee Barrat on drums. Frank Carter is also a tattoo artist at, and co-owner of, Austin Tattoo Company in Austin, Texas. You can also find photography from this artist on his blog.

The Gallows tour all through the UK and Europe, along with the US. Currently, they are touring outside of the US for the month of November. At shows, such as Warped Tour where I had first watched Gallows live, Frank Carter sings in and with the crowd, instead of on stage. Also, I added a Gallows RSS feed on my blog for you to stay updated!

Here is a video taken by me of Frank Carter from Gallows singing and moshing in the pit at Warped Tour 2009 in Cleveland, Ohio. The footage is rough because I was in a crazy crowd, but I just wanted you to see how Frank Carter incorporates the fans in the concert too.

Sunday, November 07, 2010

Anti-Flag, a band of four from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, define punk through their rough, upbeat, and fast musical tones, and arrangement of classical punk vocal sounds. Anti-Flag consists of Chris #2 on vocals and bass, Justin Sane also on vocals, and guitar, Chris Head also on guitar, and Pat Thetic on the drums. Anti-Flag focuses their music on the government, protest, and fighting for what's right, whether it be against war, corrupted media, police brutality, and more.

Their song, "Die For The Government," (This is not the official music video, just a copy off YouTube.) off their 1997 album, "Die For The Government," talks about how people fight and die in honor of their government, and how it's wrong to do so. In the song, they shout the truth in the chorus and sing against it. "This Is The End (For You My Friend)," from their album "For Blood And Empire" in 2006, talked about how the end has come for commercialization of the "right" weight, appearance, and advertising media fed to Americans every single day. These couple songs, plus many more, show the personalities of the members of Anti-Flag, what they stand up for, and what they believe in.

Anti-Flag's latest album is titled The People Or The Gun and was promoted by Side One Dummy records. Currently, they are not on tour, but have a show on December 8 in Los Angeles, California.

Check out these Anti-Flag songs: "Turncoat," and "1 Trillion Dollar$"

Photos: (top) Justin Sane and Chris Head, (bottom) Chris #2 in the crowd, both at Warped Tour 2009 in Cleveland, Ohio, taken by me.